Liquid-feed system



Dec. 8, 1925.

F. wooDMNsEE LIQUID man $1.515!

Patented Dec. 8, 1925.

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FAY WOODMANSEE, OF IVIAYWOOD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T ELECTRICAL ENG-EN EQUIPMENT COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION 0F immers.

LIQUID-FEED Application filed January 22, 1920. Serial' No. 353,252.

To @ZZ 'whom e' may concern.'

Be it known that I, Far VVooorraNsnr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Maywood, in the county of Cook and State o' of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Liquid-Feed Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, concise7 and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

l forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates generally to liquid feed systems and has been provided primarily to meet the requirement for maintaining the oil or other liquid of high insulating or dielectric qualities in circuit breakers, transformers, lightning arresters and other electrical apparatus at a proper level.

Heretofore, due to the inaccessibility and 9U infrequent operation of apparatus of this general description, the maintenance of a proper liquid level has been frequently neglected. The hazard attending the opening of an oil switch wherein the oil has evaporated or otherwise dropped to such a level as to have no effect in quenching or extinguishing the resulting are is only too well known to those skilled in the art. The resulting' heavy arcing and consequent surging in the line frequently causes the insulation of the system to break down, The disastrous results have not only subjected the operator to considerable danger, but have caused enormous damage to apparatus.

Heretofore in the art it has been practically impossible, particularly where an installation includes a multiplicity of pele top circuit breakers or other inaccessible electrical apparatus for the operator to learn in a practical manner the condition of the oil level in each independent device prior to the operation thereof. After the switch has been opened and great damage or perhaps loss of life has been caused it is too late to rectify the error.

The primary aim of the present invention is the provision of a liquid feed system for maintaining the oil or other insulating liquid in circuit breakers and other electrical apparatus at a proper level in a simple and highly effective manner and with a minimum amount of attention. Thus I have provided positive insurance against the inevitable damage which has heretofore resulted, foi example, in opening an oil switch with insuflicient oil present to extinguish or quench the are or in the operation of an oil transformer without adequate insulating liquid about the coils thereof.

In accordance with the teachings of my invention I provide a tank or v'voir having connections for liquid flow te the various electrical devices to be supplied This tank or reservoir is preferably arranged at a higher level than the apparatus to be supplied so that the liquid will flow by gravity thereto and the intake port of each of the devices is positioned so as to be sealed and the flow of liquid thereto checked when the level of the liquid is at the proper height. A drop in this liquid level through evaporation or otherwise, will uncover the intake port so as to cause -a flow of liquid from the tank or reservoir to maintain the level of the liquid in the particular apparatus at the proper height.

In order to explain to those skilled in the art the manner in which the principle of my invention is to be applied and to explain a specific embodiment of the invention I shall describe the invention in connection with a` typical eil circuit breaker.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of an oil switch showing an embodiinent of my invention in connection theref'ith;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of a switch showing an alternative embodiment of my invention in connection therewith; and

Figure 3 shows diagrammatically the invention embodied in connection with a incultiplicity of electrical devices.

Referring to the drawings, the circuitv breaker illustrated is typical of the oil break plunger form. The present invention is applicable in connection with any other form 0f oil switch. Therefore the particular switch shown will not be described in detail except where the same is necessary to set out the functioning of the present invention in connection therewith.

This switch comprises a closed vessel l() provided with a safety valve ll. The closed casing includes a cover l2 through which project electrical conductors terminating in the stationary switch contact members itl. These Contact members of a forni well known in the art and need not be specifically described here. The conductors lll which lill are connected to said contact members, are ledthrough the cover 12 by mea s of suitn able insulators 15 which may be of any suitable type. These insulators are preferably sealed into the cover so that a tight joint is maintained.

A movable switch member' 1G adapted for reciprocation into and out of contact With the stationary contact members 13 is mounted upon a suitablyinsulated rod or plunger 17 Which rod or plunger is guided in the cover 12 and connected at its upper end With suitable operating` and resetting` mechanism (not shown) Whereby'the rod or plunger 17 is reciprocated and the movable svvitch member 16 thereby reciprocated into and out of contact with the nary contact members 13, as Well understood by those skilled in the art. rllhe operation of the structure above described is obvious. The closed container 10 holds a body of liquid 18. This liquid may be oil or other suitable insulating or non-conducting liquid, as heretofore set out.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 the container 10 is provided With an external Well 20 extending up adjacent the cover 12. The top of the Well 20 is provided with an intake port 21. rihe bottom of the Well is provided With a discharge port 22 communicating with the interior of the closed container 10 and preferably positioned. so that the contact members 13 of the switch will be amply submerged when the level of the liquid in the container 10 seals the port 22.

The intake port 21 is connected by means of a pipe or conduit 23 to the bottom of a supply tank or reser oir 24- preferably of such capacity that the container 10 Will be supplied over a considerable period. In such instance, only infrequent iilling of the reservoir is necessary and the frequent attending of the switch is avoided. The relative positioning or location of the reservoir 24e is immaterial, it being' suilicient that this tank be so arranged as to providea iiotv by gravity to the Well 20. 1n the event that such reservoir is used in connection with a single switch it mioht be positioned on the cover 12 of the closed container 10 if so desired.

It Will now be apparent that should, 'for example, upon operation of the switch the level of the liquid 18 in the closed container 10 drop to such` point that it would have little or no effect in quenching` or extinguishing the resulting arc a flow from the tank or reservoir 24 to the container 10 by way of the conduit 28 and Well 20 will immediately be set up. The level of the liquid in the container 10 will thereupon rise, sealing the port 22 and compressing the air in the container 10 above the level of the liquid to such the further flovv of liquid will be checked. Upon any tendency of this liquid level toward dropping, a flowivv'ill at once be set up and a substantially constant level thereby obviously maintained.

ln the embodiment shovvn in liigure 2 the Well is in the form of an auxiliary reservoir 25 mounted in the cover 12 of the closed container 10. rlhis auxiliary reservoir is preferably sealed into the cover 12 so that a tight joint is maintained. The nozzle 2P, providing cemn'iunieation between the auXil ir-y reservoir and the container 10 is lovi ded with a pet cock 27 in order` to permit the operator to shut olf the 'flow from Ehe reservoir 2a should it be desired to dissseinble the switch apparatus as to remove casing, etc. Otherwise the details and operation of this system are substantially as described in connection with Figure 1.

ln Figure l I have shown diagrannnatically the invention embodied in connection with a multiplicity of electrical devices. Vlhe devices 30, supplied from the reservoir 2l, may be a series of oil break switches, a series of transformers or other electrical apparatus, or an entire installation, including oi break switches. transformers, lightning arrest-ers and the like.

While my invention is particularly useful in the connections above set out, and While l have illustrated the invention in connection with a typical oil switch, it is to be understood that such showing is simply illustrative and that l do not intend to limit the invention to such use or purposeI only. rllhe arrangement and form may be varied with the exposition given.

l claim: n combination, a container, a partition dividing' the container into tivo receptacles, one of the said receptacles being coinparatively larger than the other and containing liquid and gaseous matter, the other reciotacle being relatively small and contain-, only liquid matter, means including an aperture in 'the said partition for coneXtent that necting the said receptacles, means connect# ing the smaller receptacle toa liquid supply, the said aperture being' normally below the surface of the liquid in the large receptacle, means governed by the gas above the liquid in the large receptacle for causing liquid to flow from the said small receptacle through the said aperture into the large receptacle and means including a safety valve connected to the large receptacle for permitting the gas to escape therefrom Wheneif'er the pressure of the entrained exceeds a predetermined amount.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 19th day of January, 1920.

FAY VVOODMANSEE.

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